Overview of GMAT Reading Comprehension in Verbal Section

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a computer- adaptive test that is conducted worldwide for the admission to the management and business courses in various international Universities. The test is of 3 hours and 30 minutes which tests the verbal and analytical skills of an individual. GMAT examination is divided into 4 sections:

1. Verbal Section
2. Quantitative Section
3. Integrated Reasoning Section
4. Analytical Writing Assessment Section

The verbal section of the GMAT paper tests the ability of an individual to read and comprehend the written material, reason it and evaluate the arguments based on it. It also measures the ability of the candidate to express ideas effectively in standard written English. The section consists of 41 Multiple choice questions. The total time allotted to this section is 75 minutes.

The verbal section of the GMAT examination is further subdivided into Reading Comprehension (RC), Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning. The questions of the Reading comprehension in verbal section of the paper are based on passages. There will be about 3-4 passages, each one having anywhere between 1-3 paragraphs. The passages will range from 200-350 words. Each passage will have anywhere between 1-4 questions.

Reading Comprehension if Verbal Section

Reading comprehension of the Verbal section of GMAT paper tests the ability of an individual to understand words and statements and the logical relationships between significant points. This section measures the ability of the test- taker to draw inferences and valid points through the quantitative concepts given in the paper.

The main motive behind the reading comprehension of the verbal section is to test the reading skills like main idea, supporting idea, inference, application, logical structure and the style of the candidate.

Each passage of the reading comprehension of the verbal section in the paper comes with questions that ask you to interpret material, draw inferences or apply it to a further context. The passages discuss topics including social sciences and humanities, physical and biological sciences, or a business-related field.

Types of Questions in Rc Section

The content of the topics is academic in nature. The subjects that the passages are based on include science, social science, history, and business. One does not need to have any outside information on any of these topics to approach RC questions. All the information that you need to answer RC questions is given in the passage itself. So be careful not to use outside information other than what has been presented in the passage to answer RC questions. And do not be anxious if you come across a topic that you have no prior knowledge on, as that is not required to answer RC questions.

The tone of the questions asked in the Reading comprehension in the verbal section can be generic or specific. General questions test the primary purpose of the passage while the specific questions ask for the details from the passage. Below is a list of the different question types one can expect on the GMAT RC section:

1. Main Idea: Some questions test the main message and the author’s central point towards the passage. This question basically asks you to summarize the complete passage or identify the purpose of the author behind the passage. The questions are designed to see that you recognize the macro- organization of a passage.
2. Supporting Ideas and Details: These questions on RC in the verbal section tests the understanding of an individual towards the Specific details from a passage, Ideas, and facts that support the main idea. The questions test the test- takers, ability to identify facts, details, descriptions or sub-topics.
3. Logical Structure and Organization: The questions based on structure asks an individual to examine the way in which a passage unfolds. It tests the functional skills of an individual. Logical structure questions center on function. The questions are basically designed to check if a candidate is able to analyze the idea, compare and contrast and refute an idea behind the passage.
4. Inference: The questions test the ability of an individual to use passage information and make logical conclusions. Questions are designed to test the ability to determine relationships between ideas in the passage and ideas outside the scope of the passage.
5. Passage Tone: The questions analyze the test- takers ability to determine the passage tone and how the author feels about something mentioned in the passage. Style and tone questions ask you about the author’s expression of ideas through diction or word choice.

Overview of The Reading Comprehension In Verbal Section

The reading comprehension of the verbal section consists of 3 sections: Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction, and Critical Reasoning. The passages of the reading comprehension will be based on the topics of business, social science, biological science or physical science. The tone is that of a scholarly journal. Each passage comes with 3-4 questions.

One can easily find about three or four reading comprehension passages, each with three to four multiple-choice questions associated with it. So, that makes for 9-16 reading comprehension questions or roughly one-third of the GMAT Verbal section devoted to reading comprehension.

There will be three short passages of 200- 250 words which typically has 3 questions, and one long passage of 300- 350 words which typically has 4 questions. Sometimes, the paper comes with two passages of each composition. The passages are abstracts taken from textbooks, journals, newspaper articles, and magazines. This does not require any outside knowledge. It only tests your reading skills with the information that is completely provided in the passage.

Strategies For Reading Comprehension

To clear any examination, one must completely analyze the paper pattern, go through some of the sample papers, be thorough with the syllabus and must make a proper strategy and strictly follow it. After knowing the exam pattern, a number of questions and the type of questions asked, let us examine some of the tips and preparation strategies of GMAT to prepare for the reading comprehension are as following 

1. Practice Well

The Verbal section consists of 41 questions with a time restriction of 75 minutes. One has to answer all the three sections in these 75 minutes which leaves less than 2 minutes for each question.

Reading comprehension requires more time than the critical reasoning questions, and significantly longer than the sentence correction questions. One must divide the proper time for all three subsections of the verbal section.

A good rule of thumb is to spend six minutes on a short passage with three questions, and eight minutes on a long passage with four questions. Two to three minutes should be spent on the initial reading, and the rest should be spent on the questions.

2. Emphasize on Some Particular Words and Phrases

One must emphasize the transition words because those words track the relationship among ideas. There are five main categories of transition words that you should know and recognize for the GMAT.

• Cause and Effect: Consequently, Because, Thus, As a result.
• Words like similarly, furthermore, in addition.
• Evidence: In fact, For instance, etc.
• Words that show the contrast or opposition like yet, however, nevertheless, on the other hand, etc.
• Concluding phrases like all in all, in essence.

These words can help a reader in understanding the relationship between ideas and what the author is trying to depict.

3. Make A Mental Summary

While reading, the candidate is advised to make a brief mental summary of what he is reading. The summary should answer questions like what and why. This will help in understanding the questions quickly and answering them efficiently. Students are advised to just read the passage once or twice, look out for the main idea or plot and try to find the interrelationship among other sub-concepts and make a quick mental summary of what they understand. They can then attack the questions by using their own summary and eliminating wrong answers strategically.

4. Stick To What Is Given In The Passage

The passages given in the reading comprehension in the verbal section of the GMAT paper do not test the outside knowledge of the candidate. The questions asked are purely on the basis of the facts and figures given in the passage. So, the students are advised not to bring in outside knowledge, even if he/ she is familiar with the topic being discussed. The right answer should always be 100% supportable by the passage alone.

5. Try Eliminating The Wrong Answers First

Eliminating the wrong answer is more important than answering the correct one. Getting rid of the wrong answers is an integral part of the process of getting to the correct one. Even if you are absolutely sure that your answer is correct, first check the other options and prove them wrong before moving on.

This is a good strategy that can be beneficial when you get stuck between answer options. At the time of such confusion, go with the answer option that is hardest to disprove. It’s almost always easier to weed out the wrong answers than it is to find the right one.

GMAT Examination tests both the qualitative and the quantitative ability of the candidates. It tests all the skills and knowledge of the test takers. The reading comprehension in the verbal section tests the reading and inferential skills. Before giving the examination, go through the complete overview of the section and make a proper strategy to clear it.